SIGMApaNUza 2011: Westminster College: Part I

On Wednesday night, as I left CreateMyTee World Headquarters to get ready for the immaculate adventure that is The Campus Shirt Show, I reminisced about my last trip...  Lots of miles, lots of campuses, lots of sneaking into stadiums, lots of amazing people, and lots of quality time in my beloved Pontiac Bonneville.  I hit the dirt road behind CreateMyTee World Headquarters, driving with urgency to get home and pack the Bonnie for the Shirt Show.  I may or may not have been driving a couple miles over the speed limit like I sometimes tend to do (see Day 2 from the last CSS Blog), and then all of a sudden, BAM!!!  The pothole I saw in my rearview was as big as the void I immediately felt when I knew the Bonnie wasn't making this trip.  Yep, that's right.  The Bonnie's front right wheel is smashed -- just like my heart.  But as I write this blog from the passenger seat of Chadrick's Avalon, I know everything is going to be okay.  We're on our way to Westminster College for the 1st Annual SIGMApaNUza Charity Concert, and we're flippin' jacked.

The Campus Shirt Show is back!  You know what that means, right? CreateMyTee’s quest to Make Shirt Happen on EVERY SINGLE college campus might be coming to your college!

The Campus Shirt Show chronicles the non-stop adventures of CreateMyTee’s pursuit of the most excellent college Reps in the history of the world.  Our goal is to find a CreateMyTee.com Campus Rep on every college and university in the US of A!

My name is Michael. I have been tasked with reviving the Campus Shirt Show blog.  The Honcho is taking a back seat on this one – since he drove over 2,500 miles and visited more than 30 campuses during the first tour in the midwest, east coast and south, he’s going to rest in the back seat (not literally, just figuratively) while I drive (I’m not literally driving either. I’ll just be writing weekly blog updates about all the CreateMyTee shirt that is happening on campuses nationwide).

Some of you may remember me from either an email I sent you or a shirt I handed you on campus. Some of you have never heard of me. I’m an intern at CreateMyTee. Since the University of Michigan is right in our back yard, we decided to take a trip to campus to promote our new donation program for student groups and organizations. Our game plan is easy and simple. Every time a club/organization at U of M orders from CreateMyTee, we give 10% of the order back to the organization placing the order.  We call it “Giving a Shirt.”
   
We took to the campus sidewalks in an effort to spread the news.  Our plan was simple: two dudes, a stack of 300 fliers, two heavy boxes of SHIRT HAPPENS T-shirts, and an enthusiasm only rivaled by the homeless man that wouldn’t stop asking us for money. We didn’t have any money but we did give him one of the Shirt Happens t-shirts. 

As we hobbled down State Street, heavy boxes full of tees in hand, we quickly realized that it was much colder than we anticipated.  Our hands quickly lost all sensation as the blistering cold wind sent a feeling of numbness over all our exposed skin.  We didn’t let the weather slow us down though!

We set up camp in the center of the quad.  We didn’t think it would be too hard to get rid of all the shirts, and we were right.  Most of the people we approached were more than happy to get their hands on a sweet, free Shirt Happens Tee.  And most of them stuck around to listen to our pitch. Others scurried away to get out of the cold (and I do not blame them).

The day was a rousing success.  Everyone we talked to seemed enthusiastic about wanting to Make Shirt Happen with CreateMyTee.  Keep your eyes posted for more updates and U of M. Where should we go to next?

Campus Shirt Show on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CampusShirtShow
Campus Shirt Show Blog: www.CampusShirtShow.com

Today was our fifth and final day of Adventure Numero Uno of The Campus Shirt Show.  It was another day jam packed with driving, repetitive radio music, awesome scenery, and meals out of the trunk of the Bonnie.  Ivan and I started the day in Huntsville, Alabama, and then navigated through Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and finally Michigan.  We covered more miles on day 5 (over 700 miles) than any other day of the trip, and along the way we had some awesome experiences.  This is how it shook out...

On night 4 we arrived in Huntsville, Alabama.  Since Ivan and I had never been to Alabama before, we saw it extremely fitting to go out on the town while there.  Before doing so, we decided to drive through The UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA - HUNTINGTON'S campus and try to find the Sigma Nu house.  As we drove through the vacant campus, we asked ourselves where in the world a fraternity house could be located... and then there it was.  The Sigma Nu house was all lit up and filled with people.  Naturally we decided to go on.  Good decision.  We grabbed a shirt load of tees and gave them to the fellas at the house.  Long story short - It was an awesome stop!  The next morning we woke up bright and early and hit the road.

The next stop was THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH.  This was one of the most scenic drives of our trip.  The Bonnie climbed the mountain ahead of us and eventually we made our way to the beautiful campus in Sewanee, TN.  We had a little trouble finding the Sigma Nu house at first, but pretty girls who like free t-shirts made it easy to find.  The house looked like a castle, and the Sigma Nus there told us it was built in the 1800s.  That's like, pretty ancient.  After talking to the fellas about the All Sigma Nu Charity Competition, we left the castle and ventured back down the mountain to our next stop, Middle Tennessee State University.

Albeit quick, MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE was another great stop.  The guys at the Sigma Nu house were awesome, and were very interested in talking t-shirts with us.  Before we left, they gave us a tour of their house, and one of them even signed on as a Campus Rep.  Welcome to the Crew, Matt!  We left Murfreesboro and made our way to Music City USA.

Ivan and I snailed our way through the Nashville traffic until we reached the Sigma Nu house at VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY.  We traded some stories with the guys there, got a picture in front of an awesome Vandy sign, and then hit the road.

Our next stop was WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY.  We definitely struggled to find the Sigma Nu house on campus and soon realized that it was in the process of being built.  Go figure.  We decided to visit the office of Greek Life and drop off some tees there, and then left the University and headed out to our next stop.  While driving down the road, about 5 miles away from campus, Ivan used his eagle eyes to notice a Sigma Nu license plate on the car next to us.  We looked like cops as we flagged them down and convinced them to pull over.  There were three Sigma Nus (one of them was the t-shirt chair!) in the car and they were absolutely stoked to hear about the Charity Competition.  This was one of our most random occurrences of the trip, and by random I mean excellent.

The next stop on the list was the UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY.  We arrived in Lexington and made our way to the Sigma Nu House.  We knocked on the door for a while until someone answered.  The person who answered wasn't what we expected.  It was "Mama Lou," the Chapter's house mom.  She greeted us and gave us a quick tour of the house.  We also discovered her love for Facebook.  Eventually we met some of the guys, and then we made our way to what we thought would be our last stop of the day, Cincinnati, OH.

When we arrived at the Sigma Nu house at the UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI it was definitely past 9 o'clock.  Luckily, the guys from the house were wide awake and having a good time.  We parked the Bonnie (accidentally blocking in a dude who we gave free t-shirts to when he had to search for the owner of the "Ridin' Shirty" car for an extended period of time), and then the fellas showed us their house.  They had seen our pictures inside of the football stadiums on the campuses we had previously visited, and insisted they could one up all of those places.  They guided us through Cincinnati's beautiful campus until we reached their (open) stadium, and walked us down ONTO the field.  Check out the pictures.. it was sweet!

From Cinci, we had a choice to make:  Stay the night in Ohio, or drive the 250 miles back to CreateMyTee.com World Headquarters in Ann Arbor, MI.  We chose the latter.  We made it back to the mitten at around 2AM, and immediately crashed when we got home.  The 2500 mile journey was nothing short of epic.  We visited over 30 campuses, met hundreds of amazing people, were awarded one speeding ticket, and made Shirt Happen at every place we touched.  On the 5th and final day of Adventure Numero Uno, here are the things that stood out...

• While the Bonnie isn't as intimidating as a police car, it can still be used to pull people over.
• The Blue Plate Cafe in Huntsville, Alabama makes a mean omelet. 
• Booty shorts are in high demand at the University of Alabama.
• Even in the south, radio stations overplay Eminem songs.
• A trip that was forecasted to last 10 days can easily be condensed into 5.
• Making Shirt Happen across EVERY SINGLE college campus in the nation is only a couple Adventures away.

Until next time...

Shirt Happens

-The Honcho

p.s.  To donate to "The Campus Reps Honcho Campus Shirt Show Speeding Ticket Foundation", please send checks (payable to Nick Shelton) to CreateMyTee World Headquarters.  Thanks in advance!

Today was day cuatro of the Campus Shirt Show and it was definitely awesome.  Ivan and I woke up bright and early from our Night 3 shenanigans and hit the ground running.  We made several stops throughout Georgia, eventually winding up in the great state of Alabama.  Being our first time in 'Bama, it was hard not to quote Forrest Gump all day.  Example.... IVAN: "Nick, what do you want to eat for lunch?"  NICK: "Lieutenant Dan, ice cream!"  In addition to "Gumping" we also managed to hand out shirt loads of free tees, make new friends with some awesome people, and hear every Alanis Morrisette song ever on the radio.  Here's how it all went down...

We started the day in Athens, GA, home of the GEORGIA Bulldogs.  While there, we had an amazing breakfast at a restaurant called Mama's Boy and then headed over to the Sigma Nu house.  This is where we decided that we should call this tour "CreateMyTee Cribs" instead of The Campus Shirt Show.  Checkout the picture.  Before leaving the University of Georgia, we had to sneak into the Stadium... naturally.

After leaving Athens, we trekked to Atlanta where we met up with our Rep, Kelsi V., and restocked the Bonnie with Shirt Happens tees (Thanks for all the heavy lifting, Kelsi!).   After we grabbed the tees, we cruised over to GEORGIA TECH where we encountered the first ever Frat House with a swimming pool.  If you're ever in Atlanta and someone asks you to go to Sigma Nu's "Library," make sure you wear your swim trunks.  We also managed to snap a pic of the glorious Bonnie in front of a GA Tech sign... that only took us about 3 trips around the block to capture.

From Atlanta, we headed over to WESTERN GEORGIA where we drove aimlessly in search of the Sigma Nu house.  We finally found it secluded in a beautiful cove in the woods.  Congratulations on your newly renovated house, guys!

After snagging some Georgia peaches on the state line, we found ourselves at SAMFORD COLLEGE in Alabama.  While there, we found ourselves driving through a Thursday night football tailgate and discovered that there is something different about the way girls dress for tailgates in the south vs. the midwest.  While I can appreciate jerseys and jeans, sundresses at football tailgates are pretty darn special!  Before leaving Samford, we met several Sigma Nus and discussed the All Sigma Nu Charity Competition with them.  We should expect to see them on the leader board in October!

Our next stop was BIRMINGHAM SOUTHERN.  It was a quick visit, but it was definitely a good one.  While there, we met Sigma Nus and Chi Omegas, and made sure to give them enough Shirt Happens tees to go around.  As we left the campus, we noticed a group of girls snapping pictures of us in the Bonnie, and that made us feel super special.  My mom would be so proud.

As I wrap up this blog from the passenger seat of the Bonnie, I'd like to give you some tidbits regarding today's journey...

• Gas station shades are fun to try on, but buying them is immediately regrettable.  
• Homeless people love free tees.
• A 4:1 girl to guy ratio can never be a bad thing (ask the guys at Samford).
• Driving 1,700 miles across the US in a Pontiac Bonneville to spread the word about CreateMyTee.com has been an amazing experience.
• The next 1,300 miles will be even better.

Until next time...

Shirt Happens.

-The Honcho

Day 5

Well, day 3 of the Campus Shirt Show is in the books.  It was a day of scenic driving through states Chewbacca has never seen.  We conquered North and South Carolina and eventually made our way into Georgia.  On our way, we handed out tons of shirts, met loads of awesome people, listened to some of the worst radio stations ever, and saw some truly beautiful scenery.  And by beautiful scenery, I still mean pretty girls.  We also saw some pretty campuses.

The day started off in Durham, North Carolina, home of the DUKE Blue Devils.  Before visiting campus we stopped by Elmo's Diner where I had one of the best omelets ever created.  From there, we ventured to campus, where we exchanged an excellent parking spot for free shirts... I knew I packed hundreds of tees into the Bonnie for a reason!   While on campus we found ourselves smack dab in the middle of a career fair.  What we learned: It's easy to stand out in a group of people when you're the only ones wearing t-shirts.  Shirt Happens!  From there, we snuck a peak at the football stadium and made the short drive to NORTH CAROLINA STATE.

NC State's Campus was immaculate.  While there, we did some intergreek mingling, talking to Sigma Nus and Delta Gammas.   We also discovered the biggest campus sign we've seen on our trip.  It was a quick stop, but it was definitely worth it.  From NC State, we made our way to the third corner of the triangle, the University of NORTH CAROLINA at Chapel Hill.

While at UNC, we met another group of awesome Sigma Nus and learned that the house they reside in was built in 1925.  Last time I did my math, I discovered that 1925 is like, a long time ago.  Before leaving UNC, we watched some Jerry Springer, snuck into the football stadium, and managed to get lost several times.  It was awesome.  The next school on the agenda was WOFFORD COLLEGE.  

The drive from UNC to Wofford was a long one... hold you breath... NO TICKETS!  On our way to Wofford we made a couple pit stops, one of them at UNC - Charlotte.  When we finally arrived at Wofford we made it a point to walk around their gorgeous campus.  This place was so clean that I swear it smelled like soap.  No Joke.  While there, we met even more Sigma Nus and talked to them about the upcoming CreateMyTee.com All Sigma Nu Charity Competition.  It was an excellent stop.

The next campus on the list was FURMAN UNIVERSITY.  This was another pretty campus.  Unfortunately we couldn't track down the Sigma Nu house while there, but we did manage to hand out shirts to several pretty girls.  And 1 ugly girl.  Just kidding, she was cute, too.

Our last stop of the day landed us in Athens, Georgia.  We didn't get into town until it was pretty late, so we decided to do what any normal person would do, and go to the bars downtown.  It was awesome.  We received lots of questions about the shirts we were wearing, and made sure to hand out freebies to everyone in our path.  The bartenders at Clutters Pub and the Thetas that we met were exceptionally excellent.

As this edition of the Campus Shirt Show comes to a close, I'd like to list a few things I learned today:

1. Preparing salads out of the trunk of a Bonneville is my new favorite hobby.
2. Chili Lime sunflower seeds will never be as good as Nacho Cheese sunflower seeds.
3. Watching people get arrested in McDonald's parking lots in South Carolina is as scary as it is entertaining.
4. When you need a picture snapped with pretty bartenders, make sure to ask Chris, the Nebraskan archeologist who flies planes.
   
5. Everyone loves free t-shirts.

Until next time...

Shirt Happens.
-The Honcho

Day 4

Today was Day TWO of The Campus Shirt Show and it was certainly eventful.  And by eventful, I mean there was one major event that stood out.  And when I tell you about that one event you have to promise not to tell my mom about it because she'll worry.  And when moms worry, it's not a good thing.  Okay, here's the event.  I got a speeding ticket.  In Virginia.  Shirt Happens.  Don't tell Kathleen.

While speeding tickets are absolutely no fun, it's hard not to rush when you're visiting 35 campuses in a week in the fastest car known to man (the 2001 Bonnie).  Going from campus to campus gets the blood pumping.  It's exciting to be able to tell Sigma Nus across the country about how CreateMyTee.com is donating $5000 to the winner of the All Sigma Nu Charity Competition at the end of October (visit us on Facebook and click "CONTEST" for details).  Regardless of insurance hikes and points, the speeding ticket was worth it. 

The day started with a trip to DUQUESNE.  While Duquesne's Sigma Nu Colony does not have a house, they do have a great group of guys.  One of those guys is our Rep, Justin Adams.  The other great thing about Duquesne is the beautiful scenery.  Before heading to our next campus, CARNEGIE MELLON, we made a pit stop at Heinz field and scoped out the home of the Steelers.  See, there I am on Art Rooney's lap.

At CARNEGIE MELLON, we met some Brothers and talked to them about the Charity Competition.  I think Carnegie Mellon will do a great job when October rolls around.  From CMU, we had a long drive to the next campus on the list, JAMES MADISON.

We cruised through the mountains of Pennsylvania and then made our way into Marlyand (Ivan's first time there) for a grand total of about 12 minutes.  From there, we ventured through West Virginia and then into Virginia, where we arrived at the Sigma Nu house at James Madison.  The fellas there were awesome.  They are absolutely stoked about the Charity Competition and should do an awesome job when it commences.  Their house dog, Marky, is also excited about the big event.

We left JMU around 4 in hopes to get to Sigma Nu National Headquarters before it closed at 5.  >INSERT SPEEDING TICKET HERE<   Regardless, we made it just in time.  We took in some amazing history from Tim Braddick, the Director of Fraternal Operations for Sigma Nu.  This was an experience Ivan and I will never forget.

From Nationals, we made the 2 minute drive to WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY where we were warmly welcomed by the Sigma Nus.  We talked shirts and Charity events for a bit, and then it was time for our next leg of The Campus Shirt Show: Durham, North Carolina, home of the DUKE Blue Devils.  Check back tomorrow for how NC treats us.  

As I finish this installment of the Campus Shirt Show blog, I'd like to leave you with a couple thoughts:

1. Giving back for a cause you believe in is awesome.
2. Driving across the country is also extremely awesome.
3. Beautiful scenery and pretty girls also = awesome.
4. Use cruise control in Virginia. Speeding tickets are not awesome.
   

Until next time...

Shirt Happens.

-The Honcho

Day 3

My name is Nick Shelton (aka: The Honcho) and during the next several days, I will be chronicling my adventures on CreateMyTee.com's first ever Campus Shirt Show.  On this round of The Campus Shirt Show we will be visiting several different college campuses, each of them home to a chapter of the Sigma Nu Fraternity, the Fraternity that brought the CreateMyTee Crew together back in 2006, and the Fraternity who we will be donating $5000 to at the end of October!  Today was Day 1 of the Campus Shirt Show, and it was a colossal success.  Here are the details...

This morning, my trusty sidekick Ivan (he's like the Chewbacca to my Hon-Cholo) and I packed up the Bonnie.  We loaded it with the necessities: water, iPods, sunflower seeds, bags full of junk food (Ivan's), bags full of health food (Nick's), cameras, and most importantly, TEES... a whole shirt load of them. After leaving CreateMyTee.com World headquarters (and returning a few times for things we forgot), we made our way to our first destination: BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY.  

BGSU was awesome.  We met a few brothers from the Sigma Nu chapter on campus and hooked them up with several tees.  We also met up with Brennen Brooks, our Bowling Green Rep.  Finally, we snuck onto the football field for a quick picture.  Score.

1. When at first you can't find a frat house, find a pretty girl who can help you find a frat house.  
2. GPS is the greatest invention of all time.  
3. After a pretty girl tells you where the frat house is, pretend like you're still lost and find another pretty girl who can help you find the frat house.  
4. Making salads out of the cooler in the trunk of a Bonneville looks peculiar to passerbys.  
5. Shirt Happens.